A death at an industrial building located in the northern part of New Jersey remains under investigation today after a cinder block wall fell on a construction worker who was working at the job site. According to the Ramsey Police Department, the 56-year-old man from Riverdale was working around the outside area of a building located in the community of Bergen County around 11:30 a.m. when a 9 by 12 foot portion of the wall gave away and fell on top of him.
Police state that the man and other construction workers were in the process of removing the wall to prepare the site for a new garage door that would provide access into the building when the wall fell. No other workers were reported to be injured.
Rescue workers responding to the site were able to free the man from beneath the pile of cinder blocks that was located on the west side of the building. He was subsequently transported to a hospital for treatment, but was later pronounced dead by hospital staff after having succumbed to his injuries.
Although recent figures were not available, an EHS Today 2012 study reports that of the “fatal four” injuries (electrocutions, struck by objects, caught between objects & falls) that are said to contribute to 57 percent of fatalities in the construction industry, being struck by an object accounted for 10 percent of construction work fatalities. Individuals who have lost someone due to a construction accident may be entitled to compensation for their loss and could potentially benefit from learning more about their valuable legal rights.
Source: The Republic, “Construction worker killed in wall collapse; cause of accident under investigation,” April. 23, 2015